Erwin Valencia’s inspiring journey

“I had a dream when I was 18 years old, clear as day, that this was my destiny. I could smell the cologne mixed with the popcorn and the hotdogs. I felt the thundering of the crowd, of the basketballs, the DJ playing the music, the lights, the cameras and all that stuff. I woke up and I was like, that’s it.”

That’s how Erwin Valencia illustrates the vision that propelled him to a decade and a half of preparation for his dream job as a physical therapist for an NBA team. In this case, it’s with the New York Knicks, the most valuable franchise in the league. Valencia is back in the country briefly courtesy of Anta to impart his knowledge upon the local sports community. As a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, young Erwin grew up watching the Super Bowl and other American sporting events on the old intercepted Far East Network (FEN) broadcasts from Clark Airbase before the Philippines booted out all American military installations. This was pre-internet, pre-cable television. During a commercial break in that fateful Super Bowl, he saw a commercial featuring a sports medicine doctor. He didn’t even know what that was. But it sparked his curiosity, and gave a name to his passion. Wanting more information, he had to go to a library and use the archaic Dewey Decimal System (Dewey Decimal Classification or DDC) to find books and other research materials that he needed classified under “sports medicine,” and there wasn’t much. Luckily, Erwin’s father believed in starting mentorship at a young age, which gave direction to the dream.

At the time, he was also flirting with the idea of becoming a radio DJ, and went so far as to go to RX 93.1 and meet with Chico and Delamar, the enduring FM tandem. Chico admired his passion, but told that it wasn’t a profession that needed further study. With practice, he could do play music on the airwaves any time. Chico told him to study for something that would serve him no matter what, like his medical passion. If he really wanted to be a broadcaster, he could go back to it whenever he wanted. Nobody knew that, 20 years later, technology would advance enough to allow anyone to broadcast from anywhere at any time.

So Valencia set about learning what he could about sports medicine, gathering all the knowledge he could about this new profession, pursuing his studies in the US after graduating from UP in 1999. He learned not to force opportunities to happen, but to let the right opportunities come to him. He believes in “allowing the Universe, God, whatever you believe in,” to show you your path. Along the way, Erwin also accumulated a lot of traditional and unorthodox modalities of healing. This broad, unique blend of experience was a perfect fit for the ultimate melting pot: New York City, whose culture also appreciates the desire to give back to one’s homeland.

“I think it’s important that this generation – this one that hopefully I’m inspiring, understands that the path is not easy,” explains Valencia, who underwent rigorous post-graduate courses and courses in sports medicine all over the US, Europe and other places. “And that’s meant to be, so that then, you can answer your own questions without having to call a lifeline or call your parents. ‘Cause real life happens. If you have million-dollar athletes on the line, it’s your butt.”

Valencia also clarifies that hanging out with NBA players (from the Knicks or other teams) is not a perk or part of the club. He will have dinner with new recruits or transferees with other teams to welcome them or for team chemistry, but he doesn’t go to clubs for the heck of it. Besides, the players are grown men who are supposed to know what to do or not to do. All the medical team can do is advise them. Knowing the scope of one’s responsibility is also part of the job.